Trap.



F. OBIOLS.

TRAP.

APPLIOATIONHLBD Nov. 25, 1911.'

1,081,728. Patented July 9,1912.

1f la Attorneys F. OBIOLS.

TRAP.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. 25, 1911.

1,081,728, y f Patented Ju1y9,1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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i z l'lllmllluk lu w f ff III" Z lllf' ,l ie -l-B Inventor AttorneyFRANK OIBIOLS, OF WINNEMUCGA, NEVADA.

TRAP.

Application lecl November 25, 1911.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, FRANK OBroLs, a citizen of the United States,residing vat Vinnemucca, in the county of Humboldt and State of Nevada,have invented a new and useful Trap, of which the following is aspecification.

The present invention relates to improvements in traps, the primaryobject of this invention being the provision of a trap especiallydesigned for use in capturing wild horses, cattle and big game, saidtrap being composed of two collapsing or folding members having atension to separat-e, and means for disposing a flexible loop so thatwhen the members are released th'e loop will be placed about the leg ofthe animal and drawn taut therearound so as to fasten the trap to theleg of the animal, or to fasten to the leg of an animal an impedingmeans that will render the capture thereof easy.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a trap having twospring separated members adapted to be placed to lie in parallel thelower or base member being .provided with a cupped portion havingmounted therein a pivoted treadle or foot piece normally holding themembers collapsed, said cupped portion being further provided with ameans for holding and guiding a. flexible loop whose terminal isconnected to the free end of the upper member, so that when the treadleor foot piece is depressed by the animal the upper member will bereleased so as to pull upon the flexible connection and draw the loop.about the leg to insnare the animal.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the preciseembodiment of invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope ofwhat is claimed without de- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 9, 1912.

Serial No. 662,517.

pivotal or hinge end of the respective members. Fig. 5 is a perspectiveview of the under side of the free end of the upper member of the trap.Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the treadle and trigger. Fig. 7 is across section on line 7-7 of Fig. 3. Fig. 8 is a detail perspective viewof the lieXible loop device adapted to be freed from the trap whenengaging an animal. Figs. 9 and 10 are views illustrating modified formsof spring connections for throwing the trap.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the lower or basemember of the trap while 2 designates the upper or pivoted memberthereof, the same being. hingedly connected by means of a pin 3 providedupon its outer ends with the removable nuts 3a. The base 1 and pivotedmember 2, are both made of such material and weight that when the animalis caught that the same will act as an impediment that the ani- ;malwill drag but be so impeded as to render the capture of the animal veryeasy. The same may be constructed of any mate'- rial or if so desiredthe base 1 may be fast to the ground or any desired object.

In order to normally exert a tension to separa-te the pivoted member 2from the base 1 and retain the members in the same horizontal plane, thecoiled springs 4 are placed upon the ends of the pin or shaft 3 beyondthe outer faces of the respective members l and 2 so that the U-shapedterminals 5 and 6 of the said springs bring their terminals 7 seatedwithin recesses 8 upon the upper face and the lower face respectively ofthe members 1 and 2. By this means it will be seen that the tension ofthe springs acts to separate the member 2 from the member 1.

Carried by the outer free end of the member or base 1 is a circularcup-shaped portion or bowl 9 having the upper outwardly flared orrolled-rim 10 and the loop receiving groove or annular shoulder 11 forthe reception of the flexible loop or slip lasso 12, whose free end isconnected to the bar 13 at the under side of the pivoted member 2. Whenthe parts are in the position to entrap an animal they assumer theposition as shown in Fig. 2, while when the member 2 is released, theloop 12 will be thrown or passed about the foot and leg ofthe animal asindicated in Fig. 3, the action of the springs moving the member 2upwardly and drawing thel loop more tightly around the animals leg andthereby securing it to the trap which acts as an impediment in theflight of the animal. The member 1 is further provided with the bottom14 which is provided with an aperture 14 in the bowl portion 9 so thatthe trigger 17 of the device may be readily reached for manipulation insecuring the member 2 in the position as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. rI hebase is also provided with the recessed portion 15 and bridging the sameis a pin 16 which pivotally supports the trigger or catch 17 in saidrecess so that its hooked portion 18 will be disposed to permit thetreadle or foot piece 19 to be moved from the position as shown in Fig.2 to that shown in Fig. 3. Vhen in locked position as shown in Fig. 2the curved projection 2O on the base will fit wit-hin the recess 21 soas to act as a rest and take the weight, should the plate or pivotedmember 2 be stepped upon by the animal, from o the hook 1S, which asshown will engage the pin 22 and retain the parts in the position asshown in Fig. 2.

In use the trap is generally hidden belo-w the surface, the parts beingconcealed and protected by branches and the like so as to prevent thedirt from rendering the trap inoperative and so as to prevent the animalfrom seeing the trap. By this structure of trap t-he portion 2 may bewalked upon by 'the animal 'and the same will not be released until thefoot of the animal will enter the fla-red portion 10 of the bowl andengage the foot treadle or disk 19, at which time the trigger 17 will bereleased and the parts will assume the position as shown in Fig. 3except that the member 2 will continue in its movement until it is inthe same horizontal line with the base 1.

In the form of lassoing or looping connection shown in Figs 1, 2 and 3,the same is made fast to the free end of the member 2, but where it isdesired to attach an impediment to the animal and not permit the vtrapto be moved from the place of setting, a spring 23 is connected to theside of the memberl 2 and in this is placed the flexible connect-ion 24as illustrated in Fig. 8, a loop 25 being placed inthe same position asthe loop 12 while the free terminals 26 of the connection 24 areprovided with the weighted balls 27, the connection 24 being of such alength that when the animal has the loop placed upon his leg asillustrated in Fig. 3, the connection will be released from the trap andthe free ends carrying the balls 27 will entangle the animals leg andrender the catching more easy.

As shown in Fig. 9, the members 1 and 2 are hingedly connected by meansof the pin 3 the structure being identical to that shown in Figs. 1, 2and 3, while in lieu of the springs as shown therein, a single coiledspring 28 having its terminals 29 and 30 connected to t-he eyed pins 31and 32 upon i the exterior faces of the respective members 1 and 2, isemployed, the action of this spring being identical to the action of thespring as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, that is an action t-o throw themember 2 in horizontal alinement with the member 1.

In Fig. 10 another modification of spring connection is shown whereinthe two members 1 and 2 which are connected with the pin or hinge 3 havethe single bend 33 connected at the hinge portion thereof while theterminals 34 and 35, respectively, pass thro-ugh eyes 36 and 37,respectively, connected to the members 1 and 2. The action of thisspring is similar to that shown in Fig. 9 and the other views.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the drawings, itis evident that a trap constructed according to the present invention isespecially adapted for use in the capture of wild animals, wild horses,wild cattle and big game, and that the said trap may be so constructedand of such a size, that when the flexible connection or loo-p carriedthereby is fastened to the leg of an animal the same will act as animpediment and prevent the flight, to such an extent as to render thecapture of the animal easy. It is also evident that by this constructionof trap that the base may be fastened securely in place to the groundand be provided with the impeding device as illustrated in Fig. 8 whichwill be released from the trap upon engagement of the said impedingdevice with the leg of the animal, the said impeding device being soconstruct ed as to act as an impediment to prevent the flight of theanimal, and to render the capture thereof easy. Further that byconstructing t-he trap as herein set forth, the same may be buried orotherwise hidden from view and may be walked upon by various animalswithout operating the trap unless the t-readle or foot piece 19 isengaged.

1What is claimed is:

1. A trap, having a base member, said base member being provided with acupped shape enlargement at one end thereof, a throwing member pivotedat one end to the end of the base member opposite the cupped portion, aspring for normally holding the members extended and in the samehorizontal plane, a trigger located in the cupped portion of the base,for locking the baseand throwing members in closed relation and againstthe tension of the spring, and a flexible leg engaging member held inencircling position by the upper edgeof the cupped portion of the baseand connected to the throwing member.

2. A trap, having a longitudinally disposed base having an enlargedcupped portion at one end thereof, a throwing member substantially thesame width and length of the body portion of the base having one endpivotally connected to the free end of the base, a spring connected toboth of said members and exerting a tension to hold the members inextended position and in the same horizontal plane, a treadle catchpivoted to the main member and disposed v vithin the cupped portionthereof, means carried by the free end of the other member to be engagedby the catch to retain the meme bers closed and against the tension ofthe spring, and a flexible leg encircling member carried by the free endof the other member, said flexible member being formed in the shape of aloop and surrounding the rim of the cupped portion When the trap is set.

3. A trap, having a longitudinally dis posed plate, with an enlargedcircular cupped portion at one end, another plate having one endpivotally connected to the end of the first plate and having its freeend disposed to project slightly Within the rim of the cupped portion ofthe base plate when the plates are in closed position, a spring fornormally holding the plates extended and in the same horizontal plane, acoacting trigger device carried Within the cupped end of the first plateand engaging the free end of the second plate for locking the platestogether against the tension of the spring, and a flexible legencircling member carried by the free end of the second plate anddisposed to have a loop thereof encircling the rim of the cupped portionof the first plate When the trap is set.

4L. A trap, having a base member having an enlarged cupped portion atone end, the upper rim of which is provided With a peripherally disposedrecess, the other end of said base being a hinge member, another memberhingedly connected at one end to the hinge member of the base anddisposed to describe a semi-circle from closed to extended position, apin carried thereby, a

coacting treadle catch carried Within the cupped end of the base memberand the free end of the hinged member for engaging the pin to lock themembers in closed position, a spring for normally exerting a tension toseparate the members, and a flexible leg encircling member having oneterminal connected to the free end of the hinged member the loop thereofwhen in leg encircling position fitting Within the peripheral groove ofthe cupped portion of the base member.

5. A trap adapted to act as an impediment and to be automaticallyconnected to an animal, comprising a base member, a throwing memberhinged to the base member, a spring connecting said members to normallyexert a tension to hold both members in a straight line, said membersbeing constructed to collapse one upon the other When in set position, acup-shaped foot guiding portion formed integral with the free end vofthe base provided with a reduced rim upon the face adjacent to the endof the hinged member, a treadle pivotally mounted in the base and havinga foot piece disposed concentrically of the cupped portion, coactingmeans carried thereby and by the free end of the hinged member forlocking the members in collapsed position, a lasso composed of iexiblematerial, having one end connected to the free end of the hinged memberand When the trap is set disposed to have the loop thereof surround therim of the cupped portion, and coacting projecting and recessed portionscarried by the base and hinged member to assist in alining the membersWhen in collapsed position.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my ovvn, I have heretoaiiixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

FRANK OBIOLS.

Witnesses:

Trios. D. SALTER, R. D. PIoKE'rT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). C.

